4th Amendment—Then and Now

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

This third in my “Then and Now” series will address the 4^th Amendment to the United States Constitution. We know that the ratification of the original Constitution was done with a gentlemen’s agreement that limitations would be developed to define citizen’s right and government limitations, thus the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.

In America today Joe Biden and his Marxist minions whine about the limitation put on government by the Constitution. EXACTLY! The Founding Fathers had lived under a system where there were no such thing as protection from unreasonable search and seizure. The government could do whatever it damn well pleased.

The Founding Fathers developed the 4^th Amendment to require the government to have a well-defined reason for any search. It required the government representative swear an oath as to the validity of that reason. It required that the government document, in a warrant, with all details of the proposed search. It required a judge to review and validate the content of the warrant and that it demonstrated just cause. For the first 200 years this system worked quite well for the most part because in most instances everyone involved in the process were honorable virtuous people working for the benefit of We the People.

"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder." ~ George Washington

"One great error is that we suppose mankind more honest than they are." ~ Alexander Hamilton

However, in the last few decades evil has encroached on the processes of the 4^th Amendment. Dishonest men and women have corrupted the legal system by allowing political proclivities to supplant their legal obligation under the United States Constitution. Power and money corrupt and absolute power and unlimited money corrupt absolutely.

I wish I could say that this phenomenon has only been going on for the last few years. Sadly, it has been going on for decades and has only come to light since 2016 when the abuse of Donald Trump’s 4^th Amendment rights began coming to light, the extent of that abuse is still just now coming out. Then, of course, there was the Mar-A-Largo search and seizure which has demonstrated just how out of control the whole federal justice system has become with the current President using taxpayer resources to go after his political opponent.

In addition, the news in the last few decades is resplendent with questionable search and seizure event where the government used militarized federal law enforcement resources to execute white collar warrants terrifying family and neighbors unnecessarily. America is a police state whether We the People are prepared to face up to that fact or not.

Support Canada Free Press

"When you abandon freedom to achieve security, you lose both and deserve neither." ~ Thomas Jefferson

The root of the worst of the current evil was the “Patriot Act” of 2001. This was done out of fear and is the single greatest theft of civil liberties in the history of America. As well-meaning as it was, it gave far too much power to the federal government, particularly the corrupt federal government controlling America in 2024. The feds now monitor too much of American citizen’s communication both voice and electronic in the name of security. This law should be repealed to get the government off our phones and away from our emails. You know you have a problem when government law enforcement agencies make searches and seizure live media events. Talk about abuse of power.

So, do you think you and all Americans still have protection under the 4^th Amendment that the founding generation had in 1787? I’m pretty sure the Founding Fathers would be calling to get out the pitch forks.

"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." – Plato

VIEW Comments